Following the delayed release of the Charlotte police dash and body-cam video footage of the fatal shooting of Keith Scott, there were concerns that violence and rioting would return to the cith of Charlotte, despite the recently imposed state of emergency and national guard deployment, leading to even more drastic violence. And while luckily that did not happen to the extent seen earlier in the week, protests showed no signs of abating on Sunday, after the police released videos showing the victim being shot but did not answer the question of whether he had a gun.
Hundreds marched through the center of Charlotte on a fifth night of demonstrations that stretched into Sunday morning, including white and black families protesting police violence. One sign read “Stop police brutality” and another showed a picture of a bloody handprint with the phrase #AMINEXT, a social media tag about the fear of becoming a victim of police.
Keeping tempers in check, for the first time in three nights, police enforced a curfew, saying they would arrest violators. A crowd gathered outside police headquarters dispersed without any violence shortly after midnight Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, any hope that the video release would put the ongoing debate over Scott’s shooting to rest, was dashed after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney acknowledged that the videos themselves were “insufficient” to prove that Scott held a gun but said other evidence completed the picture. Both Scott’s family and protesters have disputed the police statements that Scott was carrying a gun.
“There is no definitive visual evidence that he had a gun in his hand,” Putney said. “But what we do see is compelling evidence that, when you put all the pieces together, supports that.”
Police said officers trying to serve an arrest warrant for a different person caught site of Scott with marijuana and a gun, sitting in a car in a parking lot. “They look in the car and they see the marijuana, they don’t act. They see the gun and they think they need to,” Putney said.
As reported last night, Police released photos of a marijuana cigarette, an ankle holster they said Scott was wearing, and a handgun, which they said was loaded and had Scott’s fingerprints and DNA. But Scott’s family, which released its own video of the encounter on Friday, said the police footage showed the father of seven was not acting aggressively and that the police shooting made no sense, with no attempt to de-escalate the situation. The family video, shot by Scott’s wife, was also inconclusive on the question of a gun.
In one of the police videos, a dashboard-mounted camera from a squad car showed Scott exiting his vehicle and then backing away from it. Police shout to him to drop a gun, but it is not clear that Scott is holding anything. Four shots then ring out and Scott drops to the ground.
A second video, taken with an officer’s body camera, fails to capture the shooting. It briefly shows Scott standing outside his vehicle before he is shot, but it is not clear whether he has something in his hand. The officer then moves and Scott is out of view until he is seen lying on the ground.
While the public debate over why Scott was shot by the police will continue, marchers on Saturday evening focused their demands squarely on stopping police violence, after on previous evenings protesters’ priority was release of police tapes. “No justice, no peace, no racist police,” demonstrators chanted.
Meanwhile, as the protesters and police remained at an impasse, the Charlotte Police department took to naming and shaming some of the many captured looters and rioters, who turned Charlotte into a warzone on the night of September 21 and 22.
Detectives are working diligently to identify looting suspects, sign warrants and make arrests.This is their board of open cases. pic.twitter.com/aTa4NjbBEw
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 25, 2016
Khalil Wallace has been arrested, accused of hitting an officer with a wrench during a protest earlier this week. He faces felony a charge. pic.twitter.com/oIduwL0KtC
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 25, 2016
Jayden Harrington and Shakiyla Green were arrested early this morning and charged in connection with damage and looting of Jimmy Johns. pic.twitter.com/JYzIYUEAQd
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 25, 2016
Arrested in connection with damage and looting at Buffalo Wild Wings: Marcellis McKenzie (9/15/86) pic.twitter.com/q4SoOX3Z69
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 25, 2016
Another suspect Identified and charged: Savanna Lee Jones is wanted in connection with the damage and looting at Jimmy John’s. pic.twitter.com/LWd8LmUBQj
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 24, 2016
One of three identified so far — Jamil Gill (4/15/1993) is wanted on numerous charges in connection with damage and looting at Jimmy Johns. pic.twitter.com/LucvtvqVne
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 23, 2016
One of three identified so far — Daniel Baker is jailed on numerous charges in connection with damage and looting at Jimmy Johns. pic.twitter.com/WAbhYHty0p
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 23, 2016
One of three identified so far! Dejuante Marina is wanted on numerous charges in connection with damage and looting at Jimmy Johns. pic.twitter.com/VLxUIboGBR
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 23, 2016
Wanted on numerous charges in connection with damage and looting at Buffalo Wild Wings: Marcellis McKenzie. pic.twitter.com/VXJtPVx0zz
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 22, 2016
Identified and charged: Ian Bowzer of Charlotte is charged with damage to property in connection with doors kicked in at Hyatt House. pic.twitter.com/kZF53YoCJQ
— CMPD News (@CMPD) September 22, 2016
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